SALEM, Ore.—A few people have already been cited by Oregon State Police for trying to cut antlers off deer and elk skulls they found in the outdoors. Others have wrongly picked up bighorn sheep skulls with horns attached in the Owyhee Unit, where a disease outbreak has left dead scavenged sheep on the landscape.

ODFW and Oregon State Police are reminding shed hunters that they can only pick up naturally shed deer and elk antlers in the wild, not antlers with skulls attached. The skulls and horns of bighorn sheep should be left where they are found, as rules state horns can only be taken during authorized hunting seasons. “If possible, please get a GPS location and take a photo of the dead sheep, then contact your local ODFW office to help wildlife biologists track the disease,” said Phil Milburn, ODFW district wildlife biologist in Ontario.

ODFW and OSP are also asking shed hunters to follow these other rules to protect big game at this time of year, when animals need to be conserving energy to get through the winter:

Don’t disturb big game animals: Don’t approach animals or follow the same ones on a daily basis.

Respect road and area closures. These are in place to protect winter range and wintering big game. Some ODFW wildlife areas are entirely closed to public access during late winter; other areas have road and travel restrictions. More information on specific closures below or see the 2016 Oregon Big Game Regulations.

Don’t take vehicles off-roading. The ground is water-logged at this time of year and off-roading in the wrong place can damage critical wildlife and fish habitat. Travel by foot or horseback instead.

Try not to be in the same spot every day. Deer and elk might need to be in that spot for food or cover, and your presence will keep them from it.

No trespassing on private property. You always need permission to be on private land. Antlers that are shed on private land below belong to the landowner under Oregon statutes.

“With shed season upon us, we are getting a lot of sheep skulls and horns picked up,” notes Phil Milburn, district wildlife biologist in Ontario, where a disease outbreak has killed 70 percent of the Owyhee Unit’s bighorn sheep. (No sheep tags will be available in the Owyhee Unit this year due to the outbreak and ODFW continues to monitor the extent of the disease.) “Remember it is only legal to pick up naturally shed antlers from deer and elk, not antlers or horns with skulls attached.” (Unlike deer and elk antlers, bighorn sheep and Rocky Mtn goats do not shed their horns each year.)

People are also allowed to sell or exchange shed antlers, but certain rules apply. Only naturally shed antlers, antlers detached from the skull, or a skull split apart can be sold or exchanged. For antlers detached from the skull or skulls split apart, the seller must have legally taken the animal (e.g. on a big game tag).

Past poaching problems led to the regulations. Skulls that are split have less value and are not eligible for record books. These regulations reduce the incentive for someone to kill animals on winter range or out of season, hide the skull, and go back months later and “find it.” A Hide/Antler Dealer permit ($34) is needed to purchase antlers for use in the manufacture of handcrafted items.

Oregon’s buck deer shed their antlers from late December through March and bull elk shed them from late February through early April. Antlers begin re-growing soon after they are shed, with most growth happening in spring and summer months. The antlers are covered by “velvet” throughout this growth period, before hardening to bone in late July-early August for elk and late August-early September for deer. This makes antlers ready in time for breeding season (in September for elk and November for deer), when male deer or elk will fight for dominance using their antlers.

Road closures and other regulations

Shed hunting. Photo courtesy of Oregon Shed Hunters.

Several ODFW managed wildlife areas and Travel Management Areas are closed during the winter to protect big game on winter range. Others have travel restrictions. See page 102-109 of the 2016 Oregon Big Game Regulations for more information.